Emerald Hearts
by bethh-024
Summary: A story that tests the resolve of a friendship when love invades Hogwarts. Three couples tell their tale. Severus & Lily. Lucius & Narcissa. Third couple is a surprise ;
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: These characters belong to the wonderful J.K Rowling; I am borrowing them for these fanfics only. This is my second attempt at a Potter fanfic, I like this one more than my previous because it allows me to explore the past of our favourite characters, enjoy!**

A cool breeze picked up rather randomly in the night air, causing her to pull her robes tightly around her slender frame. The trees rustled and shook violently but she was too deep in thought to notice, while her auburn hair whipped around her neck. Shimmering tones reflected off the surface of the lake when the moon cast its glow upon it; the water rippled softly making no noise at all as the waves reached the bank where she sat. It was so peaceful, just as she liked it, not even the menacing shadows emanating from the Forbidden Forest could scare her away. She played absently with her necklace, which was a curious charm that changed colour depending on the deepest desires of the wearer's heart. For weeks now, it had been emerald green.

He had been watching her intently as she sat there alone, not once daring to approach her. Simply looking at her brought him contentment, freeing him from the bonds of Hogwarts life as he sat by the castle. So many times he had wanted to go over and wrap his cloak around her and ask if she was okay out here on her own. No one ever noticed her but he was sure Dumbledore must know, _he knows everything that goes on. _He had been thinking for so long that he hadn't noticed she had gotten up and was heading back to the castle, straight for him.

What was that black figure at the top of the stairs? Maybe it was a person – a professor! She began to panic but then as she got closer and closer she suddenly recognised him. Relief flooded through her body like ice cold water, it was only Severus.

_Shit, _he thought, _I can't run now, she's seen me! _He looked up to see her standing over him, her green eyes piercing his own. She sat beside him rather closely, causing him to flinch and then close his eyes at the contact.

"Severus! Why didn't you come over? How long have you been sitting here?" she asked, her tone quite accusing.

"I'm sorry, I haven't been here long I mean…" his voice trailed off as he lost his trail of thought, she often did this to him.

"Next time we'll sit out here together, yes?" she said, beaming at him while her eyes twinkled majestically.

He nodded, unsure of what to say but inside his heart flared like a firework at the promise of spending more time with her. Lily was in the same year at Hogwarts as Severus although she belonged to Gryffindor house whereas he was a Slytherin. He had loved her unconditionally for two years now but had never had the courage to take their relationship further, why would _she _ever like _him? _Her eyes gave him the shivers, they were almond-shaped and shone with the most beautiful peridot green he had ever set eyes on; whenever she looked at him, he felt as though he was melting beneath her gaze. She truly was perfect to him.

They continued up to the castle together, Lily had hooked his arm with hers, bringing their bodies closer together. She often turned to look at him, his sallow and pale face as thin as it had ever been, his eyes sunken and dark but yet he made her smile brightly every time he was near. She had no idea what she did to him, his body felt frozen and he barely had any control over his own movements; except when he saw her with James Potter. His heart sank just thinking about them together.

"Sev! There you are! Ten points from Gryffindor, Evans. Get back to you dormitory!" drawled a familiar voice.

Lily sulked off without reply, but managed to throw Severus a sly smile before turning the corner out of sight.

"Hi Lucius. How come you're out so late?" Severus replied.

"Prefect duty. Why were you with _her?_"

"Caught her out after hours, thought I'd do the job you're supposed to be doing," he joked lightly.

Lucius chuckled and smiled at his friend before they returned to the common room together. Severus and Lucius had been quite friendly for a few years now ever since they had both become interested in the Dark Arts. Lucius saw Severus as a talented young Slytherin and took him under his wing, Severus had instantly accepted: Lucius had his connections.

As he lay in bed, Severus thought only of her. He saw the moon from out of the window across the dormitory; it seemed to pity him while it glowed superbly among the clouds and stars. Then Lucius came to mind – what would he think if Sev told him how he felt for Lily?

Lucius awoke in the morning sweating and panting from his very unwelcome nightmares. He had seen Severus kissing a girl he liked in the corner of the dungeons, holding her and caressing her…he should be the one making her moan and giggle like that. He hated those dreams, they seemed to haunt him every night and recently he'd had to smuggle Firewhiskey into the castle to get him through the nights. Lucius wiped his brow and went for a cold shower.

Severus woke too with a sweating brow, scared half to death by the dream that had swallowed him whole. He dreamt that Lily had told him she was going to marry James Potter and that she was pregnant with his baby. This had broken his heart and the pain had seeped through into his dream, torturing him like the Cruciatus Curse, it truly was never ending.

That morning, the wind had taken an odd turn and was gathering strength each minute. The sun sheltered itself behind the grey clouds, its usual warmth diluted by the developing storm. Severus and Lucius met in the Great Hall for breakfast, both equally distracted by women that had invaded their dreams; both equally unaware of the other's stresses. They never spoke throughout breakfast, tormented by visions of another man with the woman they loved. They nodded to each other finally, and left.


	2. Chapter 2

As Severus stalked from the Great Hall, he nearly fell flat on his face as he walked fully into Lily, who was accompanied by none other than James Potter. James's face exploded like a firework into a fit of laughter, watching Severus stumble around trying desperately to regain his composure. Lily fumbled with Severus's robes before Severus tugged himself from her grasp. Her face contorted with hurt and he threw her an apologetic look before striding out of the castle and into the grounds. Autumn had reached Hogwarts, much like that annoying aunt that arrives at your house much earlier than planned and insists upon staying much longer than expected. Severus spotted Lucius walking by the lake and set a pace to catch up with him; anything to try and seize his mind back from Lily…

He watched her with her sister Bellatrix, twirling together in the shower of leaves, happy and free and laughing without a care in the world. Sometimes he hated her, loathed her even, for how she encapsulated him and made him suffer; he couldn't live his life while he was trapped like this…while he _loved_ her. Admitting this to himself nearly made his wretch. She managed to haunt his dreams and now every waking moment but the thought of her with anyone else made him impossibly angry, like lava bubbling in a volcano precariously close to eruption.

He closed his eyes tightly, restraining the urge to curse everyone in a twenty-metre radius. The wind whistled through the trees, making the leaves rustle around Lucius and causing his hair to fly like it was possessed and then it wrapped itself around his neck, holding on for dear life.

Severus reached Lucius tapping him lightly on the shoulder and waiting for a reaction – Lucius was in his own little world and he had been all day, which had slightly begun to worry Severus, where was the domineering and arrogant Lucius he knew so well? He was lost, deep inside his own mind and there was nothing Severus could do. From nowhere appeared James Potter, wand in hand and obviously ready for a fight. But as usual, no such fight was needed.

James cast a wordless spell causing Severus to fly into the air and hover while Lucius sat there, immersed in a fantasy world where Narcissa confessed her undying love for him. James taunted Severus, showing off to Remus and Sirius until –

BANG! James fell to the floor suddenly and Severus was lowered gently to the floor. Out of the confusion ran Lily Evans, pointing her wand to James's throat and prodding him with it, hard. Severus sat up, shocked to silence by what he was seeing as James began stuttering and pleading while Lily stood her ground firmly. He couldn't believe what she was doing for him. The look in Lily's eyes was a dangerous one, they flashed with malice and resent towards the boy who she had been arm in arm with not ten minutes ago.

"Leave, James. Go. And don't **ever **treat Severus like your toy again, he's worth ten of you" Lily spat, ferociously.

James scrambled to his feet, making a run towards the castle with Remus and Sirius in tow. Lily looked down sympathetically at Severus, offering him her hand, which he took gratefully.

"…thanks," he managed.

She smiled and Severus thought he saw tears beginning to creep into her eyes and he longed to brush them from her cheeks…but he couldn't. She walked away. Lucius looked around quickly to see Sev standing beside him, staring after the girl that slowly disappeared from their eye line.

"That Evans _again _Severus?" Lucius's mouth curled slightly, _she was all right looking for a mudblood, _he admitted, _maybe I could hire her as a slave_.

Severus mumbled something before sitting down next to his friend. Lucius leant back on his elbows, surveying the grounds and acres of lush green grass that surrounded them. He thought of Narcissa. She turned him into a mess of a man like no other woman ever had. He really didn't appreciate not being in control, especially because of some egotistical girl. He stared daggers at his love, she was now playing with Bella's hair while he sat watching her with a deep desire burning in his heart. Lucius turned to look at Severus.

"Silly mudbloods. That Evans deserves to end up with someone like _Potter._ People like them should be sterilised, lest their children infect the perfect pureblood society," he spat.

Severus held his tongue, this time Lucius was wrong. And he saw no reason to remind Lucius that he was a half-blood.

"I wonder why she saved you…" Lucius continued, "maybe she has a little crush on you! Imagine the children – oh I think I'm going to vomit."

Severus chuckled falsely, the fakeness of it blatant but his friend's words seared a hole through his chest. A shadow distracted him as it loomed above him and he quickly tilted his head up to see a Slytherin girl stood in front of them.

"Hello, _Lucius_. Who's your friend?" she asked.

"This is Severus Snape. Severus, Narcissa Black. Narcissa, Severus."

Severus nodded in acknowledgement. She turned immediately back to Lucius. Her long, obsidian hair twisted like snakes in the air, her glittering eyes focussed upon Lucius's grey one and holding them like only a Slytherin could. Lucius fell into her stare, drowning in the dark pools that were her eyes and then learning he was unable to swim.

"Bella told me you were staring. I came over to tell you to **stop**."

Lucius blinked a few times, like waking from a gripping dream and focussed upon her flawless face. He remained speechless, the arrogance and usual pompousness of his attitude leaving him helpless.

"Just because you are a Malfoy, doesn't mean you can have any woman you like. Some of us have morals." At this, she stalked off to rejoin Bella.

That evening there was a special meal for a new member of staff joining Hogwarts. Lucius used this distraction to plan a way of making Narcissa his; the more she tried to push him away, the more alluring she became. He stood in the shadows outside the Great Hall until she walked past, he knew she would be alone, Bellatrix was due in the Charms classroom for detention.

When she finally stalked past, he pounced. He wrapped his arms around her from behind and pushed her against the wall. Then he twisted her around to face him whilst holding her securely in his strong arms. She struggled underneath his grasp.

"Malfoy! _What are you doing?_"

Lucius sneered, the feeling of power flooding through his body like a new found energy.

"My dear, we both know how much you want me."

She wriggled beneath him.

"You must be joking! Lucius get off me! I'm warning you –"

"What will you do to me Narcissa, my love?"

He tightened his grip on her arms and then forcefully kissed her lips. She wrestled her mouth from his, turning her head to the side and attempting to push him from her but he was just too strong. He kissed her again, enveloping her mouth in his until she could take no more. She kissed him back roughly, both trying to dominate the other, just how they both liked it, until – suddenly Narcissa raised her left knee sharply to meet his crotch.

He yelled out in pain, crying out, relinquishing his grip around her and then crumpling to the floor. Narcissa's mouth curled into a triumphant smile, her face mirroring the look Lucius often flashed to his inferiors. Then she left him lying there and went to join the feast.


	3. Chapter 3

Aurae Black was one of those siblings who hid in the shadows whilst the others flourished in the sunlight, like an undernourished tree that faltered under the expectation. She often dressed in dark colours, like the deepest blue of the ocean or the obsidian black of a raven's feather. Her hair matched both of her sisters', the curled and sleek black hair that tumbled around her shoulders seemed to run in the Black family; even Sirius had inherited it. Although her passionless eyes and china-white complexion merited the surname Black, her heart held something different, something purer.

When the Sorting Hat had been rested upon Aurae's head in her first year at Hogwarts, it had whispered some inspirational words into her ear.

"Your heart beats with the courage of a Gryffindor, yet the blood that runs through your veins holds the genes of a Slytherin. So…where to put you?" the Sorting Hat questioned quietly into her ear.

"Please…please not Gryffindor."

"And why would that be?"

"My family…my entire family has been in Slytherin for centuries – they would be so disappointed…" her voice broke.

The wise old Sorting Hat pondered the situation for a few seconds before shouting –

"SLYTHERIN!"

Aurae jumped from the stool, running off toward the Slytherin cheers and forgetting about the Sorting Hat on her head. She clumsily ran back to hand the Hat to her Professor before taking her seat beside Narcissa and Bellatrix at the Slytherin table.

When all of the first years had been sorted into their houses, the feast began. Aurae barely spoke, feeling inferior to the aristocratic pureblood witches and wizards that surrounded her. At one point, she looked up and clasped eyes with Severus Snape. He was exactly as Cissy had described him and, as expected, he was seated next to the blonde boy he followed around, Lucius Malfoy. And as described, they sat barely a foot away from Bella and Cissy.

Occasionally Malfoy would lift his gaze from his plate to give Narcissa a filthy look before returning to his usual pompous state. Aurae wondered what Cissy had done to deserve such a look; Malfoy was definitely the master of the evil stares.

Later that day, Aurae found herself seated next to Severus Snape in the library; unfortunately for her there were no other free seats. Ignoring him purposefully, she carried on with her Potions work until she came across a term she didn't understand at all. Deciding Snape was the only person she could ask without disturbing the entire library, she lightly placed her hand on his forearm. He flinched at her touch before turning quickly to face her, his greasy hair whipping through the air, his eternally empty eyes meeting hers; life meeting death and hope meeting despair. From the first moment their eyes met, she knew.

They would meet in the library accidentally many times after this meeting but eventually it became like a habit. Severus was a boy who craved friendships and all he got in return was dirty looks and cold shoulders. After a while Severus opened right up to Aurae, it may have taken a few months but they became inseparably close. Aurae's Gryffindor heart also sought out another boy that had good morals and a kind heart. James Potter.

Although James knew that Aurae was a Slytherin, he couldn't help but see past all of that to the insecure girl that lay underneath. Both he and Severus found that she was extremely kind and considerate as well as beautiful. But of course Aurae was not the focus of their attentions however as both boys were rather transfixed by Lily Evans. Aurae was always on hand for both of them whenever they needed a friend to rely on but as nature took its course, Aurae's feelings started to intrude upon the friendships…

/

Lucius Malfoy was, by no pretences, a scheming little bastard and he **always **got what he wanted. In this case, it was Narcissa Black. She had evaded him for months now, dodged his traps of seduction and even threatened him at wandpoint twice but Lucius was definitely not about to give up now.

Using a Polyjuice Potion he had been brewing with Sev's help, he planned to transform into a handsome 7th year Slytherin that all the girls fawned over. When the potion was ready, he added the hairs and downed the lot in one. Lucius had entrusted Severus with the task of keeping the real imbecile at bay whilst he made his move. Striding purposefully down to the common room in the dungeons, he entered and immediately saw Narcissa lying down on a couch by the fire. _Lucky, _he thought.

"Narcissa? May I have a word?" he altered his voice slightly, emitting a passable imitation of Terence Donald, the 7th year Slytherin. Narcissa narrowed her eyes slightly before her lips curved into a smile and she stood up. Lucius noticed Bellatrix flash her a wink before they left the common room together.

"So Terrence, what is it that you wanted?" said Narcissa, battling her eyelashes unconsciously.

"This." He spoke abruptly, moving swiftly forward and pressing his lips to hers. When they broke apart, Narcissa's eyelids fluttered and she gazed into his eyes. Inside, he cackled. He couldn't believe it. _She liked it!_

/

Narcissa's head was swimming. _That was one good kiss. _She felt like there had been a connection between them as their lips joined, like fusion, like magnetism. Running her hands up his arms and placing them on either side of his face, she pulled his head down to meet hers once again…

/

Lucius couldn't believe his luck. And the best part would be in a few minutes…

/

They held each other for a few minutes, never breaking away and passionately kissing like a couple madly in love. Then Narcissa felt Terence's face literally start to bubble underneath her palms. _Oh my god, what's happening to his beautiful face?_

/

Lucius's face broke into a wicked smile as he felt himself changing back to his glorious self. He saw Narcissa's face widen in shock and he wrapped his arms around her waist to keep her from escaping. He watched her face changing through emotions like a picture book as he transformed back…

/

_You have got to be kidding me! _She stood there in his arms, stunned. The chiselled, pale-fleshed face and gleaming grey eyes of Lucius Malfoy appeared in front of her like a nightmare from where her dream Terence Donald once stood. _Polyjuice Potion! _Her hands clenched upon his face, digging into his skin until he cried out in pain yet she did not stop. Then she began slapping him furiously across the face and chest, she was indescribably angry. He had made a fool out of her _again!_


End file.
